Welcome to another edition of Raptors Reasonablists with Eric Koreen and Blake Murphy. Throughout the year, lead NBA writer Koreen and regular contributor Murphy discuss hot-button issues surrounding the Raptors, but with an even-keeled approach in pursuit of finding reasonable, middle ground. If we have faith in anything, it is that reasonable middle grounds lead to: a) workable long-term solutions; b) increased empathy and understanding for others; and c) more wins — at least more wins when they truly matter — probably. We hold these truths to be self-evident, and we hold these truths to be good truths. (If you are interested in hearing reasonable thoughts instead of reading them, Murphy hosted the first edition of the Raptors Reasonablist podcast, with Koreen as guest, earlier this week. You can find it on Soundcloud, iTunes and, let's face it, probably elsewhere.)

Koreen: You know who would make a good Reasonablist, if definitely not a Raptors Reasonablist, Blake? Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. Before the Raptors’ rather compelling win over the hated Afflecks last night, Stevens spoke to the media, as he is required to do in the collective bargaining agreement (or maybe it’s not in the CBA; but it’s somewhere!) and spoke about the progress of his team.

“We haven't played as well as we need to play to be good, to be at our best,” Stevens said. “That's the most important thing you can do as a team. Sometimes you get caught up in taking tough losses too hard and taking wins that maybe could have gone either way as a sigh of relief instead of just focusing on what you need to do to get better.”

Naturally, that got me thinking of your post-game tweet from Tuesday night, because my brain is a garbage factory. If the Raptors lost against the Celtics, this would have been the easiest Raptors Reasonablists of all-time to write: They would have been tied for second in the East, seemingly their birthright this season, with Boston, and losers of six of their last eight games. We could have cautioned against panicking, pointed out that the schedule will get easier, that Patrick Patterson would get back to full health and Jared Sullinger would be back in February, foretold that they would still win 50-plus game and be just fine, slapped a -30- that associate editor Kaitlyn McGrath would have deleted on that bad boy, and called it a day.

But no, the Raptors had to go and make things complicated. So, before we get to analyzing the State of the Team after the Raptors got through the toughest part of their schedule with a 5-5 record (with Nets-Knicks-Nets-Sixers waiting for them), was Tuesday night, as Stevens might term it, a sigh-of-relief win. Or did it mean more than that?

Murphy: Consider me sentimental or — gasp — unreasonable, but I thought the third-quarter turning point against the Reindeer Games was actually meaningful. The Raptors haven’t lost a third in a row now in 10 consecutive instances of dropping back-to-back games. That is a random stat, to be sure, and one that only means something until it doesn’t.

But the Raptors’ success over the last few seasons has been built on a few elements — chemistry, fortitude, resilience — that kind of buck-the-cold, heartless logic I normally apply to things. I don’t think it matters, for evaluating their overall talent level, that they haven’t lost a third in a row. But I think it may matter to them that by eschewing a losing streak, they’ve maintained this spectre of pliancy, that they can be put down but it is impossible to keep them down. Who knows if it manifests at another time in the year, or in the playoffs? Still, it’s surely better than inside that locker room, they know they have answered the call each and every time their backs have been against the wall.

That the game happened to also give them a two-game cushion and a 2-0 series lead against the Phantoms isn’t not important, too, as they’d obviously prefer home court in what is starting to feel like an inevitable second-round matchup against this same team.

Do you feel differently? I have a sense you’ll tell me I’m ascribing too much meaning to “one-of-82” or crediting a DeMar DeRozan technical foul with saving the constitution of the franchise. Which, yeah, fair. Beyond that, assuming the two sides were to meet in the postseason, how high is your confidence level in the Raptors grinding that “bloodbath” out (Dwane Casey’s words).

Koreen: For a writer who, like yourself, deals with a whole lot of statistical analysis, I am also open to the psychological importance of such victories. So yeah, I can get behind what a win like Tuesday’s against the Giglis does for self-confidence, and I can certainly get behind that season-series edge. In Surviving Christmas with a .500 record, which included three nice wins — two against Utah, owners of the best defence in the league, and one against a hot, almost fully healthy Boston team — I can feel good about where the Raptors are at. And yes, when the Raptors inevitably lose Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final against Milwaukee (Saturday, April 15, 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN and TSN), I believe the knowledge that they are INCAPABLE of losing three games in a row will help them.

It is just that (caveat: the schedule has been unkind) I’m not thrilled with the process right now, even if I’m fine with the results. They allowed 66 points over the middle two quarters against the Celtics, and while there was some pushback in the fourth quarter, the Raptors did not seem to be overflowing with perimeter defenders throughout the game. (On that end, I’d really like Cory Joseph to stop making me feel like Norman Powell should be playing ahead of him in such moments). And even the way they got back into the game late in the third — with DeRozan putting his head down and driving, scoring eight of the Raptors’ 12 points after his magical technical foul did not fill me with confidence. I’m pretty sure a coach as good as Stevens would not leave Kelly Olynyk in to protect the rim as long as he did in a playoff game. (Although thinking back to Frank Vogel in Game 5 last year, I guess we have no idea what pretty good coaches will do — ever.)

My point is not to panic — it is just to emphasize that if DeRozan had not gotten hot, and had Al Horford exploited Jonas Valanciunas a bit more, and had Valanciunas not morphed into Rudy Gobert for three minutes, the fan base would be panicking. And while I would stump for calm in such a scenario, I think that the last few weeks brought up reasons for legitimate concern (as of this writing, they are 19th in defensive rating, with the Celtics the only sure-fire playoff team behind them; they are also tied with the Celtics for last in the whole league in defensive rebounding percentage, which is undoubtedly a partial result of that first thing for both teams).

And now Paul Millsap is off of the trade market, so he cannot save the Raptors. There’s no way the Hawks front office is just trying to create a bidding war. No, teams are always very honest and straightforward with their leaks to the media.

So, two questions: 1) Where are you on this team, as a whole, following the toughest stretch of their schedule? And 2) How much would you like to see Masai Ujiri add something (frontcourt versatility, a stouter defensive wing as DeMarre Carroll insurance) to a roster that is, let’s concede, doing just fine as is?

Murphy: I agree with your concerns about the how behind the Raptors’ comeback, but I’ll offer three caveats: 1) There is still, as we agreed, a psychological importance there, and they still did those things against a quality Jersey Girl opponent; 2) Decrying the DeRozan-goes-bully-mode part of the comeback, well, that takes away a good chunk of the Raptors’ offence once every two or three games and becomes a much larger issue; and 3) Valanciunas playing as he did is something the Raptors have been looking for out of him for some time, so turning around and discarding it as fleeting kind of makes Valanciunas’s task an impossible one (though Horford absolutely could have done more to swing that matchup).

But yes, in general, they are still not playing particularly well, at least relative to earlier in the year. The toughness of the schedule is what it is, and the Raptors rank third in the NBA in John Schuhmann’s travel-, opponent, and rest-controlled strength-of-schedule metric. But the schedule would be tough (albeit with more rest and less travel) in the postseason, too, and the Raptors need to find a way to defend against quality offences and create when quality defences load up on Lowry and DeRozan. Same as it ever was, we’ve just taken a circuitous they’re-so-good-they’re-so-bad-ok-they’re-good-again to land back in the same place.

What becomes tough about adding a piece in the absence of a Millsap deal — this is definitely, in part, posturing to increase his value, though it’s interesting that Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical no longer listed the Raptors as one of his suitors in his latest report — is that the Raptors are not particularly well-equipped to make trades for mid-salaried players. Like last year, the Raptors bringing back a player of consequence involves losing one of Joseph, Terrence Ross, or Patterson, punting on Sullinger right as he’s set to return, or combining multiple prospects to get enough outgoing salary together. Taj Gibson? You’re losing a rotation piece. Trevor Booker? You’re likely losing a better player, period. Jared Dudley? I love the guy, but probably not at the cost of multiple assets.

You have to give something to get something, yes, but I’d bet that the Raptors continue to value continuity and the maintenance of long-term assets over pushing some chips in for a player who would, at best, just help them lose to Cleveland by slightly less. For Millsap, yes, you do that, because he increases your ceiling significantly beyond this year. For DeMarcus Cousins, who was never actually on the table anyway and now seems to not even be in the restaurant, absolutely. For a player who is yet another starting-power forward stopgap or depth insurance? I don’t think they do.

Am I being too cautious with the long-term outlook here? Is there a target I’ve glossed over? Am I undervaluing the importance of making sure they can top the 200 Cigarettesin a playoff series? I worry that maybe I’ve been in the role of trade-shooter-downer so long that my base state is too trade-negative.

Koreen: Nah, I think you’re being entirely Reasonable. Unless they’re getting a real difference maker, the Raptors definitely don’t get better by trading Patterson, who has the type of salary to grease the wheels on one of those mid-salaried player. I’m not sold on Ross’s improvement being permanent, but I’m less sold on the notion of getting a player who outproduces him at the same price. That leaves you with, in terms of guys who actually make money that allows for trades to happen, Valanciunas (who has proven his worth in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a potential BLOODBATH against the Paychecks), Joseph (I like Delon Wright’s potential, but I’m not ready to roll with him for 8-10 minutes a night in April and May unless I’m getting a really good player in return) and Carroll…

Wait, that’s the person I want to talk about: Carroll. Let’s end this off on a mostly positive note, because I would argue that what Carroll has brought to the table lately has been mostly positive. He has played more than 33 minutes in each of the last four games after reaching that number just four times in his first 29 games of the season. He has had some bad moments in there (the first half against the Jazz, the second half against the Bulls) but he has also been a legitimate asset at times. He was great in the second half against Utah, and this play, which was quietly one of my favourite moments against the How Did Shakespeare In Love win Best Picture over Saving Private Ryans?, particularly because it followed his annoyance over a call (hey, that was a theme on Tuesday).

In those four games, the Raptors have been plus-36 when Carroll has been on the floor. While he still has some drives that make me groan, he is staying in his offensive lane more frequently, and is shooting an unsustainable, but still heartening 47 percent from 3-point range in the new year.

I am feeling cautiously optimistic that we are finally getting to see something approaching the version of Carroll the Raptors hoped for when they signed him, and that it might not be an aberration. Are you with me?

Murphy: I am with you most of the way — but not quite all of the way.

What Carroll’s done of late, particularly on offence, has no doubt been encouraging. He’s knocking down open looks, attacking the closeout and making the next pass, and developing the proper timing for moving and cutting around the team’s two ball-dominant stars (more on that next week, I think). His offensive game exists in the nuance, fitting in without plays being called for him, and it makes sense that it’s taken him some time to find a modicum of consistency there, especially given how little he’s played with the team’s core.

Defensively, I still have concerns. He’s definitely looked better for stretches of late, and that block on Thomas was excellent. He can handle bigger, stretchier fours like the ones the Chasing Amys employ, which is important to this team, as they’re often better when downsized. What he’s yet to show, though, is that he can really slow down opposing team’s star wings, which is what he was brought in for. That’s a tough ask of anyone, and Carroll’s done a passable job of late, but not a great one. The longer he hangs around 30 or 40 minutes, the less it seems “still working his way back” should matter.

I think the current incarnation of Carroll is a good, useful, important player. I am just not certain he’ll get back to 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks Carroll, an even better Carroll than the one we’ve seen. (I think, at the very least, he’s quieted arguments that Powell should be taking all of his minutes, shifting the target to his good pal Joseph.)

So, things are not so bad. Some things are good, even. From here, the Raptors start a six-game stretch in which they face but a single quality team (Charlotte), with their lone back-to-back a Brooklyn-Philly doozy. Are we done learning for a couple of weeks? Will we ever get to Reasonablize™ again?

Koreen: Blake, in good times and bad, lessons abound if your eyes, ears and mind are open. As Stevens said, growth comes in striving, no matter the nature of the circumstances you find surrounding you. I think in Stevens and Casey, the Smokin’ Aces and the Raptors have coaches who will make sure they keep growing. And that will give us plenty to consider. In the meantime, it is fair to look around and admit that this moment, right now, it’s pretty OK.

Also, I must confess: While perhaps not worthy of Best Picture, Argo was an entertaining movie. I'd watch it again.

Portrait of Ben Affleck. Portrait made at the Beverly Hilton. Photo by Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

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Eric Koreen is the lead Raptors writer for The Athletic. Previously he has covered the Raptors and the NBA for the National Post, VICE Sports and Sportsnet. Follow Eric on Twitter @ekoreen. If you liked this story, subscribe today for access to all of our ad-free content. Plans start at just $3.33 per month.